REV.13:11 “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”

This Beast comes up out of the earth instead of the sea. What’s the difference between the earth & the sea? Now in the typology of this passage, if the water & the seas represent the people, they’re kind of fluid & mobile & volatile & even fickle, but the earth is rather solid & stable. The masses are represented by the seas. What would you say, therefore, that the earth might represent? To me, this must represent the religious systems, because out of the religious systems comes this False Prophet.

The people are represented by governmental systems, these seven-headed beasts & all this sort of thing, all these wild animals coming out of the sea in Daniel & in Revelation, etc. But here comes a beast out of something more solid, the earth. And I’ll tell you, if anything is more solid than governments‚ & governments come & go, what has kept on going & going & going & has remained? (The religious systems!) Kings can come & go‚ governments can come & go, but these religions seem to live on forever! They’re more lasting than their governments, more lasting than their kings. That’s why this antichrist system is something so new, so different, at least it looks like it at first, since it has no religion, against all religions but once again, what happens in the long run? He establishes his own religion‚ the last religion, the final religion, a worldwide religion with just one god – him! Governments‚ peoples‚ whole civilisations & whole races have come & gone‚ been wiped off the face of the earth, but their religions continue! They’re more lasting. And the Antichrist‚ like every government, every nation, has discovered that they’ve gotta have some kind of religion.

He just pretends to be a lamb. He has two horns; can that be significant? We’ve always heard about the false prophet, that he looked like a lamb & he roared like a dragon, the beast had 7 heads, 10 horns, etc. These are all significant symbols or representations, neither the Antichrist nor his false prophet is going to actually look just like that. These are symbols, these are representations, they stand for something. they don’t actually look like this. The beast doesn’t actually look like he’s got 7 heads, the man himself, the Antichrist himself. Neither will his false prophet arise & actually look like a sheep with two horns, it’s just a representation, a symbolism to make you think about what does he really represent? In all the others, the horns represented kings or leaders or kingdoms. Now if this lamb represents a religious system, which obviously it does because he espouses the religious system of the Antichrist, he helps the Antichrist establish his religious system, right? So obviously this beast represents a religion or a religious system.

Don’t the other beasts represent governments & political systems, etc.? This kind of beast obviously represents a religious system and just as the beast represents a political system & yet also an actual human individual, a man called The Antichrist, this beast represents a religious system, as well as the actual false prophet who leads it. So isn’t it obvious to you that being in the shape & appearance of a lamb, it’s the false lamb, the fake lamb‚ the phoney lamb‚ in other words, the phoney saviour who claims to save them, who claims to be their messiah or their prophet & a system that will save them‚ who claims to be the true religious system. Isn’t that what it looks like & sounds like?

But on these other systems the horns represented actual specific, distinct kings or kingdoms, separate powers. Even though they were on the head of the same beast or the same head, they were distinct separate kings or kingdoms who will cooperate with the beast in the last days so here’s this religious system, this phoney lamb‚ phoney saviour called the false prophet. What do you think his two horns represent? He’s only apparently one prophet, or one prophet heads it as far as we can see. He’s always been extolled as the false prophet & he’s known as the false prophet here & all the way through the rest of revelation. The false prophet. So apparently he is represented by one man. This new religious system is represented by one man who’s a false prophet of the beast who gets the world to worship the beast. He has two horns – can that be significant? Two major religions joined together in one great religious system worldwide to worship the beast. Two great major religions who join together into one religious system.

Now, what two major religions of the world do you think could be powerful enough & anti-christ enough to want to join together to cause the whole world to worship the Antichrist himself & compose his religious system? What two major religions of the world do you think could join together & create the antichrist’s religion? (Capitalism & communism!) but communism & capitalism are economic or financial or political systems, aren’t they? – or are they? (Communism is a religion!) It is a religion of anti-religion, it is a faith of anti-faith, it is materialism in the ultimate‚ in the government, totally against religion, other religions. Not its own. They’re against all other religions, but they’re for their own religion, & it’s Communism! You call communism a religion to their face & they’re furious! “It’s not a religion! We don’t believe in God of any kind, we don’t have faith in any kind of religion! “Yes, but they worship their own religion, they worship their own holy words of the writings of Marx, das kapital, the writings of Lenin, revolutionary methods, & their gods are their leaders! They put up huge photos of their gods as big as buildings on the buildings at their great parades & great functions. “Behold, these be your gods, oh communists!” They worship gods! They make gods out of men & a religion out of communism. It’s just as much a religion as any of the rest of them, & just about as bad!

The Worship of Mammon

Oh‚ but not capitalism, of course. (Oh, yes!) Oh, it is? Where did you learn that? Where did you hear that? You mean Capitalism is also a religion? What do they worship? (money!) Who is their god? (Mammon!) Yes, the lord epitomises or symbolises it by calling it mammon, who was the god of wealth & things of the ancient world. Jesus himself said it, He uses that as a symbol. He uses that god that they were familiar with & they knew was the god of wealth & things & possessions, he said, “you cannot serve both mammon & the lord.” (Mat.6:24) in other words, you can’t serve God & the god of mammon as well. And what are the greatest, tallest temples in the world? Those big skyscrapers, the tallest buildings in the world, what are they? (The banks!) Banks & office buildings of what religion? ( Capitalism!) – the temples of capitalism, which is just as much a religion as communism! – in fact, far greater, richer, more powerful religions than any other religions on earth! They even have the other religions beating a trail to their doors, laughing all the way to the bank!

So therefore there’s really not any difference between their religions, they all worship this world & this earth & what it can provide, things & money & wealth & possessions & gadgets & the power that it gives them. The world has only one really genuine worldwide religion which would be popular with everybody, the worship of materialism, & greater than any other religion, more widespread than any other religion, more general. In fact, it is the religion of most religions! The desire for wealth & property & power. Capitalism & communism fuse into one & point the way to the beast!

Two horns! Here comes this Devil Beast, this religious system of the antichrist‚ Its false prophet, representing his religion‚ his worldwide religion, his world religion, that everybody must join‚ according to them, or be killed, which exhorts the whole world to worship the beast & his political government & even to worship him as god! In fact, now at last the satanic religions of materialism, both capitalistic & communistic, are suddenly at last fused into one, & politics has become religion & religion has become politics! So finally a false prophet is going to get the capitalists & the communists to unite to worship the beast, the antichrist. And this false prophet will also probably be a man. See, the animal itself represents the system, the worldly system in a way, the religious system of the world, materialism, & his two horns, capitalism & communism. What else could it be? Since materialism is the greatest religion in the world, virtually worshipped by everybody, & the two horns would represent two divisions or two distinct powers of that kind of religion, the two greatest divisions of materialism are capitalism & communism. So apparently the religious system of materialism is going to finally get together, capitalism & communism are going to get together & point the way to the beast & say to worship him! Isn’t that what it says? Of course, it’s all full of the Devil because he has the voice of the dragon, which shows the dragon’s inside!

REV. 13:12“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him…

That’s the Antichrist. The whore is still riding on the beast (Revelation 17:3-5), still directing things. In other words, do you get the similarity between the whore riding on the beast & this two-horned lamb? They’re two symbols for the same thing. The whore is materialism, the religion of the world, & this lamb is materialism, the religion of the world.

and causeth the earth & them which dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.”

How was his deadly wound healed? What was the religion of Rome? (Materialism!) What was the religion of Babylon? (Materialism!) What was the religion of Egypt, Greece, Medo-Persia, you name it! It was the main religion of all of them! They may have called them by different names & gods & idols & all the rest‚ but their main worship was things – wealth, riches, possessions, powers. Ours is not! – we worship love! God is love! Ours is the only religion, which is love! Jesus said, “a man’s life consisteth not of the things which he possesseth.” (Luke.12:15). He told us not to worship the things, which are seen. For he said, “the things which are seen are temporal” — temporary, just for time -“but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2cor.4:18). “and the greatest of these is love!” He said‚ “eye hath not seen‚ nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man‚ the things which God hath prepared for them that love him!” (1cor.2:9) and a lot of preachers quote the scripture to say, “that’s why you shouldn’t even try to know anything about the future, shouldn’t even try to know anything about Heaven‚ God says you can’t even know it!” They ignore the very next verse which says what? (“but god hath revealed them to us by his spirit.”) Hallelujah! A revelation of those things which God hath prepared for us, revealing it to us.

Rev. 13:13“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”

I’ve often wondered if that’s atomic fire or what kind of fire? We don’t know yet exactly, it might be that sort of thing. They’re experimenting with laser beams‚ that’s fire, experimenting with atomic fire‚ that’s fire, & all these things. Great signs & wonders!

Rev. 13:14a “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast…

What men in the world today, what profession is more worshipped by people than any other profession? (Scientists.) – Including doctors, engineers & inventors, all science! These men of science who know the wonders of the universe & what makes it tick & blah blah. As they used to say, “science is a sacred cow which the world worships!” More than their preacher, more than anybody else! They will take the word of their doctor, they will believe the word of the scientist, they will believe the word of the evolutionist‚ they will take the word of the lofty great know-it-all, the high priests of science above the Word of God! And what is science? It’s a religion of materialism, the men who know the most about the world & its materials & how they operate & how to control them, how to be powerful through the possession of them & the use of them, these high priests of science – doctors, engineers, inventors, teachers even – all high priests of science extolling the wonders & the marvels & the miracles of science! There it is right there!

Rev. 13:14b saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, & did live.”

The image didn’t have the wound; he was talking about the beast!

Now as we discussed this beast with seven heads shows us the antichrist government has always been in existence from the beginning. It’s all the same beast, although it has manifested its ugly head in the seven major governments of the world. But the Antichrist kingdom will be a revival of one of these heads the Roman Empire, which was wounded, but revived and becomes the 7th head, the final manifestation of the beast in the Antichrist!

Them that dwell on the earth will make an image to the Beast, the Antichrist, the revival of a head that was wounded unto death but did live (Rome) the final fruition of the Beast manifest in this Antichrist Devil man!

Rev. 13:15 “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, & cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed!”(Dan.9:27; Dan.11:31; Dan.12:11)

What did Jesus say would happen when this abomination of desolation appears? “When yetherefore see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place … then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:15) so the placing of this abomination of desolation introduces the great tribulation period, the second three and a half years of the Antichrist’s reign. When you see it standing there, you’ll know the tribulation has begun.

So the big question now is, what is this abomination of desolation?

Jesus said you’d see it “standing in the holy place.” Daniel 11:31 says the antichrist “places there the abomination of desolation.” Daniel 12:11 says that “the abomination of desolation is set up.” he places it, he sets it up and it stands there, so it’s some kind of standing object.

Here in the 13th chapter of Revelation we find out that it’s an image of the Antichrist himself. The killing of all those who refuse to worship the image of the beast is obviously the beginning of the great tribulation. And we are convinced that this image is the thing which is “set up” in the “holy place,” which is “placed” there and “stands” there–the abomination of desolation.–nothing is more abominable to the Jews, Muslims and true Christians than an idol and blatant idolatry. This image is the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet“! (Matthew.24:15).

Rev. 13: 16-17 “And he causeth all, both small & great, rich & poor, free & bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

The time is soon coming when paper money will no longer be used as a medium of exchange! The money medium of exchange will be replaced by a very remarkable credit system in which every person in the world who belongs to the Antichrist regime will bear a credit number, without which he can neither buy nor sell, and by which he is accredited in his governmental account with the value of whatever goods or services he produces, to which he can charge the goods and services that he himself needs. Men will no longer buy nor sell with money as a means of exchange, but with a number, a number which will be given them permanently, without any possibility of counterfeit, change, manipulation or forgery, because it will be branded on each person: “a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads.” Every man will have his own number, every member of the world system will be branded or tattooed with the mark of the beast like cattle for the slaughter, and will be forced to worship the beast and his image or be killed! The false prophet will use this mark as a means to force people to worship the Antichrist. One can only imagine the pressures of having to own a mark in order to ensure the necessary food for his family.

For millennia, what John described as this new way of buying and selling, essentially conducting commerce, seemed fanciful. It is the amazing technological advances of recent years that have made that “no man may buy or sell” also signifies a total control situation. The technical infrastructure that could impose this type of financial uniformity is already in place in developed countries. If universally adopted, this could evolve into the very economic system foretold in this chilling passage of John’s.

Rev. 13:18“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore & six.”

That’s how much? What’s that? (666!) It’s the number of a man – what man? (The Antichrist.) So, it’s the number of a man, what man? – The number of the antichrist! Think of that! – He’s probably got your number too‚ I’m sure. – Number of a man, every man, everybody!